bookwormbelle reviewed on 5/7/2010 + 16 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I've never been too big on bios (they're often too dry and snail-paced for me), but this one blew me away. Mind you, it's a long, looong read, but what it lacks in editing it makes up for in content. Marie Antoinette is transformed from the evil "Autrichienne" who said "Let them eat cake" (which she never actually said, according to this book and other bios of her) into a human being who was doomed from day one. A foreigner, a royal, the most recognized representative of the aristocracy, and a woman --- this lady could have reeeally used a good PR guy. The book takes you from the day she was born (and even before that, introducing her family ties and the royal bloodlines she married into), to months after her execution (I'd go so far as to call it murder). What actually tugged at my heartstrings the most was what her surviving son was subjected to following her death. That said, there was a point in the book where Fraser, in my opinion, wants so much for Marie Antoinette to be seen for the non-evil person she was that Fraser excuses her for refusing to flee Paris with her family when she had the chance(s). I felt that her choices, though she claimed to be looking out for her family, put them in further danger, as well as the people who were trying to help them out. All in all though, it seemed to me that she was a scapegoat. Overall, an outstanding book, and made me want to read further on the subjects of the French Revolution, Versailles, and the Sun King.

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